"FIFA" and "Pro Evolution Soccer" have been rivals since the early 2000s, so every year a discussion breaks out within the gaming community to see which franchise knocked it out of the park. Although "PES" has been improving steadily, especially in the gameplay department, in its recent outings; EA's series remains the more popular of the two.
With "PES 2018" already released and "FIFA 18" set to be available from the 29th of September, now is the perfect time to discuss which is worth the time and money.
Ultimate Team
If Ultimate Team is your main reason for playing EA's game, there is no reason to even look at Konami's latest entry.
MyClub is not terrible, but it is a poor imitation of what is offered in "FIFA 18," which even added a whole new gameplay element to their multiplayer mode. "PES 2018" shows an unwillingness to really change any of its game modes from the previous iterations, with barely anything new being added to its predecessor. Master League is still barebones, and the game offers nothing which can compare to "FIFA's" My Journey.
Gameplay
Despite Konami not really updating the modes in "Pro Evolution Soccer," the series continued to be well received due to the strides forward taken in terms of gameplay. The last three entries all improved drastically on what came before, and most considered them a step above EA's series.
"PES 2018" is a slight improvement on the 2017 entry, but there really was not all that much Konami could do to make it better. So, it plays very similarly to the previous entry. "FIFA 18" is a vast step up and finally brings the series on par with its competitor.
"PES 2018" might still edge, but the gameplay is no longer a reason to buy it instead of its rival.
Presentation
In a match, both titles look pretty good, but "FIFA 18" knicks it due to the offscreen presentation. For once, the build-up to a match is no longer an afterthought, creating a much more enjoyable overall experience.
One admirable quality of "Pro Evolution Soccer" was that gameplay always took priority, with presentation outside a match being on autopilot.
As EA added further bells and whistles to their franchise, while the mechanics stagnated, Konami offered something completely different.
With there not being all that much to separate the two on the field, those bells and whistles suddenly make a world of difference. While fans of both series will probably be happy with either, "FIFA 18" looks like the better option for this year.
